JSerra's Collin Quinn continues to dominate without premium velocity

JSerra senior ace Collin Quinn won't wow you if you only look at the radar gun, but he continues to dominate. He's hoping his success will lead to a state championship and a scholarship offer.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…stud high school pitcher does nothing but dominate, but doesn’t have any scholarship offers because he doesn’t light up the radar gun.

It’s a common refrain, both in translating high school success to college and college success to the MLB draft. College coaches and scouts alike want power arms. There’s more room for error when there’s a power arm on the mound. Miss your spot and you might still throw a fastball by a hitter.

But what about a pitcher that rarely misses their spots or gets hitters out with consistent movement? There should be a market for pitchers that prove they can get the top hitters out at their level.

Unfortunately, for San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) Junipero Serra side-arming senior right-hander Collin Quinn that market has yet to materialize. Quinn proved once again this week how dominant a pitcher he can be despite not having premium velocity.

Facing the Los Angeles Times’ No. 1 team in the Southland, Orange Lutheran, which has multiple Division I commits on the roster, Quinn threw a two-hit shutout in a 1-0 victory. It’s what he’s done for the last two years since he’s become a mainstay in the Lions’ rotation.

Quinn dropped his arm slot right before his sophomore season and after some initial growing pains, he developed a sharp slider to go along with a fastball in the low 80s and a changeup. Quinn said he saw the success that sidewinder David Berg had at UCLA — where he became arguably the best closer in D1 college baseball history and became a sixth round draft pick of the Cubs — and tried to emulate his action. Quinn’s arm angle isn’t quite as low as Berg, but he believes he can follow in Berg’s footsteps.

“I think I could [be successful at the collegiate level],” Quinn said. “I am definitely confident that I could. I’m just working on it, trying to get up there.”

He just needs someone to give him a chance. Because he doesn’t have ideal velocity, Quinn said he hasn’t heard much from college coaches. He talked with UC Santa Barbara briefly, but nothing materialized of the interaction.

With the successes of Berg and a number of other low-arm slot pitchers, it’s a bit dumbfounding why no team has been willing to give Quinn a chance. Maybe like Berg, his opportunity will come in the form of being a walk-on pitcher that ultimately earns a scholarship. Quinn doesn’t have a dream school, but does have the dream. The team he’s hoping to hear from is the one that will give him a chance.

“I mean anyone, man. Anyone that will let me play baseball.”

Quinn continues to put up great numbers for a very talented JSerra team that is expected to compete for a state title. His goals for his senior season are simple: “Win games and win a CIF championship.”

He keeps his personal goals basic as well.

“Go out and do as best as I can. Win. Not lose any games. That’s all I can do.”

Check out Collin Quinn’s prospect video from The Prospect Pipeline shot earlier this year in a game at Angel Stadium when Quinn pitched 6.1 scoreless innings in JSerra's 7-0 shutout of St. John Bosco: